


all your diction, dripping with disdain

by canon_vs_cannon



Category: Gotham Academy (Comics)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Gen, Hamlet - Freeform, Jane Eyre - Freeform, M/M, Other, The Great Gatsby References, and sometimes you need to use your extensive classic literature knowledge to write thing, do i care? no, huge ass blocks of dialogue baby that's how i write, i'll add more tags if i feel like it, is this shitty? yes, listen i just think that colton and olive should be friends, the adventures of huckleberry finn - Freeform, tw for mentions of colton's shitty dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23504758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canon_vs_cannon/pseuds/canon_vs_cannon
Summary: Five books Colton and Olive have to read for third period sophomore English, and one tv miniseries they choose to watch together.
Relationships: Kyle Mizoguchi/Colton Rivera, olive silverlock/kyle mizoguchi (past)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	1. I would always rather be happy than dignified

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Vampire Weekend's Oxford Comma, because it's a bop.

They’re reading Jane Eyre in English. It’s not one of Olive’s favorites, but it’s not a bad book either. Still, she’s always preferred reading something like Jane Austen as opposed to the Brontë sisters.

Colton sits next to her in class now. He didn’t ask, just one day she got to class and he waved at her from the desk next to hers in the back of the classroom. It doesn’t seem like he pays much attention in class, but he’s always willing to talk about the book they’re reading in class with her, even though it’s obvious that literature isn’t his thing. She lets him borrow her notes, though. It’s only fair, since he’s been helping her out in their AP chemistry.

They’re discussing Bertha Rochester today. In class, that is. Olive and Colton have already talked about Bertha Rochester. Basically, she definitely got the short end of the stick in this story. I mean, her faults are mental illness and alcoholism. And neither of those make you a bad person.

Unfortunately, Gotham Academy is full of assholes. So, many of their classmates actually agree with the decision to lock her in the attic.

“Betcha at least one person who attends Gotham Academy has a family member locked in the attic,” Colton whispers to Olive.

“City’s full of supervillains who put toxic gases in the water. Bet you it’s more than one,” Olive replies.

“Wow, Silverlock. That’s dark.” Colton leans back in his chair, propping his feet on the desk. Olive rolls her eyes.

They’re not the only people who are having a side conversation. In front of them, two girls are whispering back and forth.

“You know who she reminds me of?” one of them says.

“Who?”

“That Silverlock girl.”

“No! Cause she’s crazy, right?”

Olive clenches her fist, but she doesn’t say anything. She’s used to it by now, being called crazy. It’s an awful thing to be used to. She bends her head down and opens the book. If she focuses on the words, it should be fine. If she doesn’t get angry, it should be fine. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Colton tilt his chair back down and lean forward.

“The fuck did you just say?” he asks, almost conversationally. The girls turn and look at him.

“Sorry, were you asking us?” one of them says.

“Let me put this in different terms,” Colton says. “So, you guys are friends, right? What would you do if some was talking shit about your friend?”

“I’d totally square up!” the girl says. “Like, meet me in the parking lot!”

“What time?”

“What?”

“Well, if the solution to someone insulting your friend is to fight them in the parking lot—”

“Colton,” Olive interrupts. He looks at her.

“Oh shit! I didn’t mean to imply that you couldn’t defend yourself, you totally can. Like, women are super empowered. And stuff.”

“No, it’s not that. Just—”

The bell rings.

“Just drop it, okay?” Olive stands up and pushes past the other students putting their stuff away. She pretends not to feel like the distant giggling she hears is directed at her.

Colton catches up to her in the hallway.

“Hey, Silverlock, I’m sorry,” he says. “I was just trying to help.”

Olive keeps walking. Colton falls in step next to her.

“You know we’re going to the same place, right?” he asks. “Detective club lunch?”

He’s right. “You know you don’t have to defend me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So why did you?”

“Because I feel bad. I was a piece of shit to you earlier in the semester. I’m really sorry about that, I don’t really have an excuse.”

Olive looks over at Colton. He smiles. She nods, hoping it’s enough to demonstrate that she accepts his apology. His smile gets wider.

“Anyway, I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really like that book.”

“I don’t either,” Olive confesses. “Jane Eyre’s never been one of my favorites.”

“What is your favorite? Book, I mean.”

“Diary of—”

“Millie Jane Cobblepot. Got it. Besides that?”

“Pride and Prejudice.”

“Really?” Colton tilts his head. “Pegged you for more of a Gothic Romance type then a Regency Romance type.”

“You can’t beat Darcy,” Olive says, shrugging. “It’s just facts.”


	2. to thine own self be true

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: for some homophobic language
> 
> also there's like time skips and shit in this story but don't expect me to understand or explain them.

They read Hamlet next. Colton likes this one a lot more than Jane Eyre. He’s always kind of liked Shakespeare, even though his father called it a worse word for gay. But it was something about these plays being considered high literature even though they were full of dick jokes and intended for “the common masses” in the time they were produced.

Olive likes Hamlet too. Olive likes a lot of Shakespeare plays, although she says she tends to lean more towards tragedies. Colton does too, he thinks. Someone who’s good with words would say something about how living tragedy makes you lean towards it. Colton isn’t good with words.

Of course, the in class discussions are horrible. How is it that every rich kid in Gotham is kind of awful?

Well, almost every rich kid. The Mizoguchis are amazing. Kyle is amazing. And Pomeline’s not half bad, if you give her a few chances to get it right. And Olive doesn’t count, she’s here on a scholarship, albeit a scholarship that comes from the original Gotham rich kid.

Does Colton count himself among the rich kids? Yes, he does come from money. But he’s not on the list. He’s awful. A different kind of awful, but there’s no use lying to himself about it.

But that’s not what this is about. This is about Hamlet and his shitty hand of cards.

Well, not anymore, as the bell rings. Colton stands up immediately, ready to get to lunch and back Olive up when she complains about their English class not understanding the nuances of revenge. Nevermind that he doesn’t completely understand the nuances of revenge.

“Hamlet’s a homo.” Colton hears one of the boys packing up say. He freezes, coming to an abrupt stop. Of course, this causes Olive to bump into him, making a loud noise. The boy turns to the noise and gives Colton a rude smirk.

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Rivera?” he says. “Fucking queer.”

Colton starts walking again, making a beeline towards the door. This, among many other reasons, is why he wears sunglasses all the time. So no one can see any emotional reaction he might have.

Olive follows him, of course.

“That guy’s a jackass,” she says. “I don’t see why people feel the need to accuse everyone of being gay like it’s the goddamed Salem witch trials or something. Just because you don’t like someone doesn’t make them a homosexual.”

Olive’s just trying to help, of course Colton knows this, but it makes him feel worse, because she’s acting like it’s just a thing someone’s saying, not like he’s actually gay. But then again, he’s not really out to anyone. Unless you count Pomeline, and that’s only because she’s decided it’s her job to know everything. So he just walks faster. Hopefully Olive will drop it before they get to the dining hall.

Olive grabs his wrist. “Hey,” she says. “Look at me.”

Colton stops, looks at her.

“I can’t tell whether you’re actually looking at me. The sunglasses.”

“I am.”

“Okay. I think I said the wrong thing. Colton, you know I wouldn’t care if you were gay, right? None of us would.”

Colton doesn’t know what to say in response. How are you supposed to respond to that? Should he just come out to her right now? Are they even that good of friends? Or friends at all?

Olive can probably sense his discomfort, because she drops his wrist. “Hey, you don’t have to say anything. But just for the record, I am not straight. Not sure exactly what. I dated Kyle, which was great, but also women are really hot. You know?”

“No, actually. I don’t know. Kinda the point,” Colton says. And then he realizes what he said. “Shit.”

“It’s okay, I won’t say anything,” Olive says. “But I support you. And you’re my friend. Alright?”

“Thank you,” Colton says. Olive smiles and pulls him into a hug.

“For the record, though,” she says into his ear. “Hamlet and Horatio are absolutely in love.”

“Really? Because I was definitely getting that vibe.”

“One hundred percent.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another note, hamlet and horatio are super gay for each other and if you can't handle that, we're not friends.


	3. it's not as bad as it sounds

Colton hates this book. I mean, sure, it’s well written and all that bullshit, and it has some historical relevancy, but he just can’t stand it.

The book in question is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Currently, Colton’s avoiding helping Olive with their project on it by asking Pomeline a ridiculous amount of questions about the book she’s reading.

“Wait, so what’s the deal with minor demonic entities as opposed to major demonic entities? Like, how do they get a promotion?” he says.

Pomeline gives him a look. “Major ones can kill you. Minor ones are just annoying. Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden?”

“What? I’m just talking to you. We’re friends. I like to hear about your interests.” Colton leans his elbows on the table.

Pomeline snaps the book shut and drums her fingers on the cover.

“Olive, what’s he avoiding?” she asks.

“Helping me with our English project,” Olive replies, not looking up. “God knows why I partner with him.”

“Huckleberry Finn is a stupid book,” Pomeline says. “Heathcliff’s doing the whole project for the both of us. I’m going to leave now, though. Don’t want to be Colton’s enabler.”

Pomeline gives a wave that somehow feels sarcastic and stands up, bracelets clinking when she grabs her books, and walks away. Colton reaches out towards Pomeline’s retreating form, but she doesn’t even turn around. He turns back to Olive, who’s still looking through a book that he now realizes is her history textbook. She writes one last thing, pushes it aside, and looks at Colton.

“We can just bs our way through this project, I hate the book just as much as you do,” she says. “We’ll choose something easy. We have to talk about a source of conflict, right? So we’ll just do the abusive dad thing.” She smiles at the end of this, but Colton feels his heart sinking.

“Um, can’t we find something else?” Colton asks. “Like, uh...society?”

“Too vague,” Olive says. “The dad thing is easiest.”

Colton can understand that Olive is trying to help, but he thought that maybe his friends had actually picked up on the subtle hints about his home life. It’s not like he doesn’t want them to know the truth. I mean, maybe it is. Maybe he just doesn’t want them to know how incredibly fucked-up he is.

“Listen, Colton. Give me a valid reason, and we change it to your society thing,” Olive says, throwing him a bone. She’s obviously noticed that something’s off. “But if you’re not gonna work with me, I’m just going with my original idea.”

“It might...hit a little too close to home. For some people,” Colton says. He thinks that might have been a pun. He wishes he didn’t focus on that.

“Colton, I’m not sure—” Olive begins, and there’s something in her eyes that makes Colton not want to hear her question, something that makes it seem like she’s deliberating how best to be sensitive, and he’s not really sure how to react to that, to someone trying their best to respect him and his boundaries.

“My dad’s a piece of shit, Olive!” he blurts out. “What else do you want me to say?”

Olive doesn’t say anything, just reaches out her hand. She doesn’t grab Colton’s hand, just rests hers nearby, a standing invitation for him to take it. After a moment’s consideration, he does. They sit there in silence for a few minutes.

“Sorry,” Colton says, eventually. Olive shakes her head.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed. I will never bring it up again. How does morality sound as a source of conflict?”

“Sounds pretentious.”

“I am pretentious,” Olive grins, and reaches for her book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up, i'm back writing this fic. i think it's a five + one now? also thinking about doing some kind of easy a au next, so let me know if that interests you and i will write it regardless. cheers!


	4. worth the whole damn bunch put together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up, another chapter! the mizoguchis are finally here! also not much talk about the great gatsby, really. just love that book. here's a link to some information about the mckee scene, because i reference it a lot but i don't think i actually explain it. i'm a nerd, what can i say. https://themillions.com/2018/04/the-queering-of-nick-carraway.html also, this chapter is for arbor112 because they left nice comments on my last chapter and if you fuel my ego i'll do anything.

Olive thinks it’s funny how much Colton likes the Great Gatsby. Her, she’s just biding her time to piss everyone off with the McKee scene, but he’s really invested in the story. And the symbolism, even though it’s all pretty surface level.

They hang out even when they’re not discussing books now, which is a nice change. Like right now, when they’re hanging out at Kyle’s tennis practice. Maps is here too, but Pomeline is having some lunch with her mother and texting Colton frequent updates, so every few minutes he’s checking his phone and typing out an answer. He’s not really enthusiastic about it, probably because Pomeline loves to complain about her mom, even though she’s not actually that bad.

Maps is working on some kind of map or something for her latest Serpents and Spells campaign. Olive would ask her to explain it, because she’s bored, but somehow she thinks that question will end in her getting asked to play Serpents and Spells, and even when she wants to, she can’t say no to Maps. 

“Olive!” Kyle shouts from the court. She waves at him, and he waves back. The purple haired girl he’s practicing against takes this opportunity to try and get a shot in, but she miscalculates and the tennis ball hits Kyle in the side of the head. She doesn’t seem very remorseful about this. Olive doubles over in laughter and hears Colton laugh next to her.

Kyle jogs over, rubbing the side of his head. “You guys are jerks. Stop laughing at me!” he complains.

“What happened?” Maps asks, looking up from her furious scribbling.

“I was violently attacked.”

“You got hit with a tennis ball, stop whining,” Olive mocks him. Maps laughs and goes back to work

“Tennis balls can hurt though. Do you want me to look at it? See if it’s swelling?” Colton asks.

“Yes please. Glad to know someone actually cares about me.” Kyle leans down so Colton can look at the side of his head. Colton brushes Kyle’s hair out of the way.

“Hmm, yeah. Doesn’t look bad. You’ll make a full recovery.”

“Thanks, doc,” Kyle says. “I gotta get back to practice. You guys still cool to wait for me?”

“Totally,” Colton answers for the group. Kyle grins and jogs back onto the court.

Colton watches him go, a fond look on his face, and then Olive gets it. Thinking about it for a moment, she realizes that Colton and Kyle would be good together. Good for each other. But how does she tell Colton she thinks that without Maps overhearing? That’s going to be hard.

“So what do you think would have happened if Gatsby didn’t die?” Colton asks.

Or maybe not. There’s something Olive can work with here.

“Something incredibly depressing. Want to hear what I think should happen?”

“The point of the book is that it’s depressing, Olive.” Colton pauses. “But yes, fine.”

“Gatsby’s still trying really hard to get over Daisy. Nick’s there for him—”

“We get it, you’re one of those McKee scene people—”

“You said I was right!”

Colton rolls his eyes and leans back. “So Gatsby and Nick fall in love, Jordan gets a girlfriend, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg become sentient and destroy America.”

“You’re joking, but I love that idea.” This obviously isn’t working. Then again, Olive’s never had to try and come up with a subtle way to basically tell someone that not only is she cool with them wanting to date her ex, she actually wants them to date her ex. Kyle’s mostly over her, but it would be nice if other people (namely Pomeline) could stop being weird about every time they hung out.

Olive turns back to the tennis court, and Colton’s phone chimes with another text from Pomeline. He sighs. Olive watches Kyle volley with the purple haired girl and laughs a little to herself at the noises he makes when he hits the ball. She’s always thought it was funny how much grunting is involved in tennis. 

“Hey, tell Kyle I’m sorry, but Damian needs my help with something!” Maps says. She’s shoving her papers into her bag in a rush. She sighs when she catches Olive’s look. “I know, you don’t like him.”

“I don’t like that he’s trying to steal my best friend, that’s all,” Olive replies. Maps hugs her quickly.

“We’re gonna do something fun later, just the two of us!” she announces. “Bye, Colton!”

“See you, shortstack,” Colton replies. Maps runs off, still trying to fully close her bag and Olive takes this opportunity to try and casually confront Colton.

“So you like Kyle?”

“What?” Colton says, immediately becoming defensive. Way to ease him into it, Silverlock.

“I think you’d be good for him.”

Colton sits up, leaning towards Olive. “So you’re not mad?”

“What? No.” Olive lightly taps Colton’s thigh. “Whatever Kyle and I were, that’s in the past and it’s staying there.”

Colton huffs out a sigh. “He’d never go for me.”

“I’ve known him since we were kids. I know what his type is.”

“Women?”

“Not necessarily.”

Colton looks back out at the court, or at least Olive thinks he does. It’s always so hard to tell where he’s looking with those stupid sunglasses. Kyle and the purple haired girl are finishing up their match. Kyle partakes in his usual after practice tradition of poorly downing the rest of the water he has, wipes the sweat off his neck, and walks over to where Olive and Colton are waiting. Olive makes a split second decision.

“Hey, I actually have a lot of work I need to do, but I’ll see you guys at dinner?” she says.

“You’re so responsible,” Kyle bemoans. “See you at dinner, Olive. I didn’t want to hang out with you anyway.”

“Haha,” Olive replies, grabbing her jacket and walking towards the academy. Distantly, she can hear Colton and Kyle arguing about something to watch, and she smiles. There’s one last thing she needs to do.

Olive quickly types out a text to Pomeline. how’s lunch with your mom?

Pomeline responds almost immediately. awful and colton (bitch) is leaving me on read but it is almost over so we should hang when i get back

That’s good. Olive was worried for a moment that all of her friends had abandoned her again.


End file.
